Mr. Brendan McDonagh:

There seems to have been a misunderstanding in respect of the figures I quoted. House-building costs will depend on location but, to break it down, we are talking about €110,000 to €130,000 per square foot for a 1,000 sq. ft. house. Where the sale price is €300,000, €36,000 of that will go on VAT and the cost of construction and professional fees will be €145,000 on average. Other costs will include finance, marketing and site costs, which will typically be in the range of €85,000 to €90,000. The costs all add up.